What with the 2017-18 season rapidly approaching, it only feels appropriate to begin a discussion thread. Feel free to share predictions on whomst will win nats (or whomst will choke in the Class 4 MSHSAA state finals)!

Louisiana - this riverside town long known for its apple orchards and the man who bungled a proposed US-Canada Customs Union has a new claim to fame: the Class 2 State Champions who were a win shy of a trophy finish at SSNCT. Don't think Michael Powers is resting on his laurels. He still have two years to go, and the Bulldogs should be quite hungry for more success.

Hallsville - Sam Lockwood remains one of the most dominant players, and he's just halfway through his career. However, with the departure of senior leadership from Emily Boyle, the Indians will need some fresh blood to supplement the younger Lockwood's prowl. Emily Boyle returns for her senior year, providing additional leadership to an Indians squad looking to capitalize on last year's fifth-place finish at SSNCT. Last year their fifth consecutive small-school title at the NAQT Missouri Qualifier came after being forced into an advantaged playoff against Louisiana; will they be able to avoid needing one to claim their sixth?(The original post incorrectly identified Emily as having graduated.)

Moberly - The Spartans ascended into the higher echelons of calibre programs last year, catching many off guard. They lose their captain Audrey Brandon, but top scorers Eric Thompson and Brennan Sapp are back to defend their district title, eighth-place finish at SSNCT, and possibly avenge their sectionals loss to Hallsville. Moberly could host that rematch, but first they have to get through their always-tough conference rivals Kirksville. And it's Kirksville hosting districts this year.

St Joseph Central - William Gentry has posted strong numbers throughout his career, but his Indians haven't quite reached the top. It's his senior year, and his last chance to rack up trophies for this newfound powerhouse in Northwest Missouri.

Lakeland - William Koch has electrified the Western Missouri Conference the past two seasons, leading his Vikings to the Class One championship game last year. With this being his senior year, they'll have to pull out all the stops to not only stop Thomas Jefferson Independent from winning yet another championship, but also avenge their loss in the WEMO finals to archrivals Osceola.

Washington - The Blue Jays won't rebuild after losing Joe Stitz, Matt Dew, Matt Chalem & Spencer Johnson. They'll reload. They are by no means out of contention for repeating at the qualifier or state.

Ladue - They don't have to reload. Raj Paul, Moses Schindler, and Akshay Govindan all return for the Rams.

Fort Osage - It was a senior-heavy lineup that led the Indians to HSNCT this year. Their experiences will certainly be inspiration for junior Alex Hill and her teammates to not only return, but seek their first playoff berth.

Helias loses a lot of seniors but top player Ben Husting is back for his senior year. Can he keep the Crusaders afloat, especially with them charging into conference affiliation (AAA) for the first time in 15 years?

Potential surprises:

Exeter made a strong late run in SSNCT, coming up just short of a playoff berth. They bring back almost everyone next year, and they are hungry for more action.

DeSoto has slowly built their program up, complete with with first trip to nationals. Will the Dragons keep marching up.

Palmyra has been expanding their playing opportunities, with their young talent looking to get up on the pile in what's been an arms race amongst the members of Clarence Cannon Conference. Could they join Centralia and Louisiana in the top echelons, or will they have to keep fending off Brookfield and South Shelby for that third spot?

Kirksville is always the great enigma of the north. You know they're going to be good, but because they rarely get out of Northeast Missouri, you have no idea how good until you're face-to-face with the Tigers.

Some other questions that should be answered soon:

Who will step up in Lafayette County, Mexico and Wellsville-Middletown with the departure of key seniors? (By extension, Marceline, Paris, Fayette, and so on)

Ample young talent at Hannibal, North Kansas City and Southern Boone, but can they coalesce and break through?

Will teams finally realize to not leave tournaments until they know for certain that they have no more games?

More critically, will more tournaments introduce consolation afternoon rounds in lieu of knockout brackets?

Will someone in KC (besides Northtown & the Fort) finally get with the rest of the I-70 corridor and not just attend a large number of 20/20 tournaments, but also host?

Last edited by Atlashill on Wed Aug 02, 2017 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

Don't get your hopes up, Ladue probably won't be very good However, the extremely underrated Akshay Govindan will prove to be (one of) the best quisbowler(s) the wonderful "Show-Me State!" of Missouri has ever seen! Even so, we will continue our tradition of losing tournaments, but with more sadness this time

Things To Watch Out For™
Alex told me he wasn't planning on spending much time studying for qb this year, but MICDS will still definitely be among the top 3 teams in the state, so don't count them out!

As Raj noted, definitely keep an eye on MICDS, namely if senior Alex Donovan gets any support. He's a one-man wrecking crew, but unless this West County school (whose alumni include Vincent Price and Joe Buck) steps up and support an HSNCT playoff squad, they likely will have plateaued.

Francis Howell returns senior Ganon Evans, arguably one of the most congenial ambassadors of the sport in the St Louis area if not the entire state.

Several programs (notably Tuscumbia, Rock Bridge and Scotland County) will have new coaches - will they be able to maintain the momentum their predecessors have put in place?

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

1. Ladue - the greatest quisbowl team the world has ever seen - consisting of two of the proest qbers to ever live! featuring the illustrious Akshay Govindan and immaculate Raj "Shallow" Paul backed by extreme poetry specialist Moses Schindler
2. MICDS - Alex may have stopped studying but he is still extremely pro! however! even if Alex were to continue studying consistently ladue would just be too powerful
3. Central - as Raj duly noted Central is geographically secluded from a strong circuit but in my personal and informed opinion William Gentry and his team are powerful enough to compensate!
4. Hallsville - mainly a one man team led by pro qber and good friend Samuel Lockwood Sam consistently studies and has some deep literature knowledge!
5. Washington - even though they lose Spencer Johnson Washington B was a pro team last year and has a strong literature specialist in Carrie Derner but will they be able to compensate?
....
Honourable Mentions
??? Helias - an all senior squad led by the enigmatic Ben Husting whomst is a bit of a wild card and does not scale well in difficulty! they should still fare well against some of the above teams and pull off some pro upsets whilst also getting upset by worse qb teams! (See: Round 5 of the 2017 MO Qualifier)
??? Francis Howell - Ganon Evans is a bit of a one man team but he is quite excellent and a good man in general!

...
Dishonourable Mentions
100000. Louisiana - the absolute worst quisbowl team to plague the face of Missouri! "Fine Arts Oriented Generalist" Michael Powers has no deep knowledge and is bad at quisbowl and in order to compensate for his lack of quisbowl prowess he has befriended actually good quisbowlers!

Edit: corrected a bit about HeliasUser was warned for this post. Specifically, please keep in mind that the board rules prohibit "tired Internet memes of any kind." -- the Mgmt.

I also suspect that the top team in the state billing is a little bit wide open this year, depending on the format. Ladue strikes me as better at NAQT (or at least they did last year), while Alex Donovan and MICDS seem much better at mACF format. I think the Warson Road rivalry will be duking it out for the top spot at tournaments in the St. Louis area all year.

When it comes down to it, I think what will set us apart from the rest of the state is our UNMATCHED team chemistry. Over the summer, my teammates and I have organized several "play dates" in which we make small talk and play games like "hide-and-go-seek" or "tag", and through our adventures together, we have made friendships for life whose strength and immortality will undoubtedly translate onto the quizbowl battlefield. To further build upon our relationships, we have even developed fun "nicknames", "secret handshakes", and "pre-game rituals". One of the things I love about quizbowl is its ability to connect people in a very special way. I would even go as far as to say the love within our team is BIGGER than quizbowl. We are truly unbreakable and forever. Although we may not be very "good at quizbowl", I sincerely believe our team serves as a paragon of what this beautiful sport is all about: love.

rpaul48 wrote:When it comes down to it, I think what will set us apart from the rest of the state is our UNMATCHED team chemistry. Over the summer, my teammates and I have organized several "play dates" in which we make small talk and play games like "hide-and-go-seek" or "tag", and through our adventures together, we have made friendships for life whose strength and immortality will undoubtedly translate onto the quizbowl battlefield. To further build upon our relationships, we have even developed fun "nicknames", "secret handshakes", and "pre-game rituals". One of the things I love about quizbowl is its ability to connect people in a very special way. I would even go as far as to say the love within our team is BIGGER than quizbowl. We are truly unbreakable and forever. Although we may not be very "good at quizbowl", I sincerely believe our team serves as a paragon of what this beautiful sport is all about: love.

Team chemistry is a major X factor. I credit that for Liberty's spell of state championship appearances when Jeff & I were there - it put an extra bit of motivation behind us to win for each other and improved our PPB.

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

Hopefully our resident emojiphile isn't looking past this season to next season, when his school switches conferences and gains (at least) an extra four tournament dates for his senior year. Look Out Mid-America!!

Speaking of conference tournaments, I'm hearing that at least two other conferences are adopting 20/20 this season. Last year Gateway, Tri-County Central and Cooper County ran 20/20 tournaments. Five down, 68 to go!

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

It's been an exciting fall half of the season so far! It'll culminate in a pair of tournaments: the MOQBA Fall Championship on December 9th at Columbia College, and the debut of a tournament at Louisiana on December 16th.

In addition to Ladue winning WUFAT, any performances strike the community as most impressive?

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.